True, not every violation of the law is a crime punishable under criminal law. But even civil violations carry punishments. To deny the latter and let the DOJ apparatchiks off scot free does send the wrong message about current and future DOJ investigations and about Mukasey himself.

5:08 pm August 15, 2008

ChiLois wrote:

With Mukasey

5:10 pm August 15, 2008

Charles Black wrote:

Give me a halter or a knife
But do not make me spend my life
Proving with reasons stout and strong
That wrong is right and right is wrong.

5:36 pm August 15, 2008

Ohismith wrote:

Just because it is not a crime doesn't mean there shouldn't be adverse consequences to the lawbreaker. Mukasey believes that they've suffered enough by diminished reputations; I think not.

6:06 pm August 15, 2008

L aser H aas wrote:

Nice one CB...

What is being missed here is the the answer to the proverbial question that begs.
If the line of integrity has been crossed, how far has the efforts beyond the law gone?

We have the poster child case to document that ROGUE elements within the DOJ are engaging in ILLEGAL conduct.

We have 34 confessed acts of false affidavits (PERJURY) while deceiving the Court (Fraud Upon the Court) and more than $300 million that is part of the Fraud endeavor in e Toys. Including the PLANTING of a CEO within the Debtor after the US Trustee Warned them not to do so. Not only did they disregard that warning, the drafted a Clandestine Hiring Letter that Bribed the new CEO not to apply to the Court.

Because one law firm is directly tied to the Courts and US Attorney, the DOJ is refusing to investigate the case.

On what plane of existence in this country is the submission of a False Affidavit as an Officer of the Court - NOT PERJURY?

NONE...

The Politico's at the DOJ in DE are so strong that when we placed the Complaint about it with the CA US Attorney, he then disbanded the Public Corruption Unit and threatened career prosecutors with retaliation if they dared to speak to the Press.

All the while AG Mukasey and the Central CA USA stated the dismanlting of the Public Corruption Unit was to make the DOJ more efficient.

Then where is the More Efficient case number of e TOYS?

The Gooding, Sampson, Rove, e Toys, OSC, UST issues must be Thoroughly and Totally investigated by an Independent Prosecutor with the Congressional oversight.

It is not the cases alone at stake here - it is the Integrity of the Process.

Look, in a few months, when John McCain is President, things will change. The good news is we're rid of Gonzo, and truly, despite the whining and and the posturing, there is no hard evidence Mukasey is anything evil. Yet, the Gray Lady's tired, cobweb-ridden rhetoric is nothing new. It is just a faithful regurgitation of the irrational tripe team Obama sputters. "Bush appointed him" is not a litmus test for evil, no matter how awful Bush may be.

6:11 pm August 15, 2008

Anonymous wrote:

One who cries Wolf when the wolf is there is seldom heard due to the panic that ensues. Where is the panic in the toy case? Where is the anxiety of the public over Mukasey and his repetitive efforts to protect the Bush Administration? We deserve what we get when we do not defend the integrity of our systems of justice.

6:18 pm August 15, 2008

JCP wrote:

I disagree nobama, you reflect that because the criminality comes from a political process that the prosecution thereof is political. Tain't so! - You have a hard case to push a No Obama campaign and just as hard, or maybe even harder, debate on pushing that no evil has occurred here. The fact remains that the note above you is correct, there needs to be a full blown investigation. We really need to know how far the legal line has been crossed. Mukasey may halt an investigation now, on the hopes that McCain will protect the party image once he gets in, however, such wishful thinking ignores the reality. If you permit these violations of the law to go unchecked you only encourage and strengthen the resolve of wayward parties to go farther off the deep end of integrity.

6:26 pm August 15, 2008

Kafka wrote:

The arrogance of the U.S. government knows no bounds. It takes much hubris to suggest the government employees can violate the law all they want without prosecution yet commoners like the Bear dudes are squashed and figuratively murdered by the U.S. government over alleged acts that are not clear violations of the law. I guess when you are no longer a world power that can stop evil like the Russian empire the next best thing is to go after your own citizens who are not employed by the government or unarmed women and children in Somali villages. Very nice.

6:47 pm August 15, 2008

L aser wrote:

Sad, but true Kafka!

8:08 pm August 15, 2008

Wall Street Journal is pathetic wrote:

All you sympathizers with Mukasey's ridiculous statement are missing the point. This is about the Department of JUSTICE having integrity and providing a law abiding and enforcing example for society. So breaking the law is okay even though your entire function is to UPHOLD THE LAW? Mr. Mukasey just lost every ounce of respect that he had left. Waterboarding is not necessarily torture. sure, buddy. He is shifty and cunning little rat of a man. He acts so humble but this statement shows you his true colors. The attorney general is supposed to be a role model. the DOJ is supposed to have integrity. They are not supposed to turn into defense lawyers talking about technicalities of what is a civil vs. criminal offense. How about Gonzo PERJURING himself before congress. Is that not a crime, you idiots? This lawyerly and disingenous reaction by Mukasey is just plain pathetic. What a spineless pathetic little man you are, Mukasey. Good riddance after November. Pack your bags and go back to the spineless jellyfish colony that you came from.

8:41 pm August 15, 2008

OJ Simpson wrote:

Right on, Mike!
You are the man.

9:57 pm August 15, 2008

Kafka wrote:

Laser, keep up your good fight dude, your tenacity is amazing, you have two things I will never have, faith and hope, I know too much, the system is corrupt beyond repair just check out how the Fed works or how much congress steals (though the two are inter related).

1:42 am August 16, 2008

Rams wrote:

Let it go. No crime was committed, unless, of course, there's a law against being political naive. If that's the case, then the entire Congress should be indicted.

5:27 am August 16, 2008

You can make a difference wrote:

Kafka has it right guy, hang in there. Faith comes from witnessing guys like you go bezerk in trying to get things done on your own. It appears you have done much, but will you win in the end?
As my dad use to say, can't never could until it tried. Have some faith Kaf.,

11:01 am August 16, 2008

Kafka wrote:

Mukasey is part of one of the most corrupt systems known to man and relies on the stupidity of citizens to continue profiting from government malfeasnace.
..............................
In the 2004 election, nearly 70 percent of Bush supporters believed the United States had "clear evidence" that Saddam Hussein was working closely with al Qaeda; a third believed weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq; and more than a third that a substantial majority of world opinion supported the U.S.-led invasion, according to the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland. The political right and allied culture warriors actively ignore evidence and encourage misinformation. To motivate their followers, they label intelligent and informed as "elite," implying that ignorance is somehow both valuable and under attack. Susan Jacoby confronts our "know-nothingism" -- current and historical -- in her new book, The Age of American Unreason.
..............................
Steve Colbert interviewed Georgia Rep. Lynn Westmoreland on "The Colbert Report." Westmoreland co-sponsored a bill that would require the display of the Ten Commandments in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but, when asked, couldn't actually list the commandments.http://www.alternet.org/story/95109/

7:41 pm August 16, 2008

Pete Wanger wrote:

Goodling, Sampson and their superiors, who gave them the idea of politicizing the Justice Department, all contravened 200 years of American federal practice. Mukasey, but pushing this issue off the sideline, is as culpable as the rest. The New York Times' position is the correct one.

5:48 pm August 17, 2008

Alberto Gonzales, Jr. wrote:

Precisely. Only violations of law by political enemies of the Administration should be considered crimes. There. I'm not as big an idiot as people think.

2:24 am August 18, 2008

L aser wrote:

Way to Go Alberto!

12:41 pm August 18, 2008

Terry wrote:

1 - A Crime _IS_ a violation of law. Period.

2 - Everyone who has the responsibility to hire personnel are briefed by HR on questions that are not allowed by law. The Goodling/Sampson questions were SO FAR BEYOND that line that there was little possible excuse for ignorance. Besides, for people being in our Justice Department, they know that IGNORANCE OF THE LAW IS NO EXCUSE!

3:05 pm August 18, 2008

Law and order wrote:

Glad to see the liberals are ready to get Tough on Crime. Improper personnel decisions should be a Class I felony.

10:16 am August 20, 2008

This is it wrote:

"Not every wrong, or even every violation of the law, is a crime."

Especially, using US marshals for home delivery of groceries to Mrs Mukasey under disguise of antiterrorist protection.

About Law Blog

The Law Blog covers the legal arena’s hot cases, emerging trends and big personalities. It’s brought to you by lead writer Jacob Gershman with contributions from across The Wall Street Journal’s staff. Jacob comes here after more than half a decade covering the bare-knuckle politics of New York State. His inside-the-room reporting left him steeped in legal and regulatory issues that continue to grab headlines.

Must Reads

First Amendment advocates and major media companies are urging a federal appeals court to throw out a defamation judgment against "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle that entitled former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura to more than $1 million of the royalties from the book.

A federal jury in Los Angeles on Tuesday ordered singers Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams to pay about $7.4 million to the family of Marvin Gaye, after finding the duo’s 2013 hit song “Blurred Lines” copied parts of Mr. Gaye’s “Got to Give it Up.”